Wolves are taking on Leeds United in the Premier League this weekend, and one fringe player may be expecting to start.
Wolves will try again to get their first points of the season on the board, after losing the first four games.
Vitor Pereira’s side were decent against Newcastle United in the first-half, and the feeling is that the team is slowly improving.
Pereira reckons he’ll raise the level at Wolves in time, and has pointed to the work he did last season to try and encourage fans to stick with him and the team.
The board are backing Pereira, who is expected to sign a new Wolves contract very soon.
And if that happens in the coming days, then hopefully it will inspire the players going into the Leeds game.
And one man who might be hoping to start on Saturday, is Sam Johnstone.
Sam Johnstone may be in contention to start vs Leeds
The game with Leeds is simply huge.
Win, and optimism will be restored. But lose against a side who’ve just come up, and the mood will worsen considerably.
Wolves haven’t beaten Leeds in their last four meetings, but hopefully the Molineux factor will be significant.
That said, Wolves’ record at Molineux in August and September has been frustratingly poor.
As ever, the team Pereira puts out will be very interesting – and the goalkeeper selection against Leeds will be especially intriguing.
Against Newcastle, Sam Johnstone replaced Jose Sa, who couldn’t play due to illness.
He has had his critics since signing for the club, but against the Magpies he impressed, making one especially outstanding save from Jacob Murphy in the first-half.
And for the rest of the game Johnstone was fairly solid and distributed well, meaning he may well have given Pereira a selection headache he perhaps did not envisage.
We know Sa has been Pereira’s go-to man for the most-part.
But perhaps we could see the Englishman keep his place. Based off his performance last weekend, it would be slightly harsh if he went straight back on the bench, and Pereira would potentially risk frustrating Johnstone.
Pereira praised Johnstone after Newcastle
It’s not out of the question we could see Johnstone start against Leeds.
Pereira said he was ‘very happy’ with Johnstone after the defeat to Newcastle, so potentially, he will be in the manager’s thinking.
Pereira’s loyalty to Sa will surely be tested. Ultimately, there is the notion of sending out the wrong message by not rewarding good performances, so it is not a straightforward decision for the Wolves manager.
Perhaps by choosing Johnstone this weekend, a fire will be lit beneath Sa, as was the case last season.
In an ideal world, both goalkeepers will be in a fierce battle for minutes and be in top form as a result.